Gracie’s screams pierced my ears.

“Mina! Mina, help! He’s got me!” she shouted. Gracie thrashed against whatever or whoever had a hold of her, but it did no good.

I bolted toward her as a blood curdling scream flew past her lips.

Adrenaline spiked through my system as I crashed through the woods, hot on her trial but not able to catch up. My wolf wanted out. A strong desire to tear into whomever had thought to touch Gracie bubbled through her.

I would have let her take over. The problem was I didn’t have time to stop and shift. Whatever it was that had a hold of Gracie was moving too fast. So fast, when I rounded a large tree following after her, she was already gone.

“Gracie? Gracie, where are you?” I shouted. Panic laced my words as horrible, scary thoughts of who might have her clogged my mind.

Where was she? I’d watched her round the tree.

No broken branches marked the way she’d been taken. No shuffling of the ground. No scraps of clothing snagged by twigs. It was almost as though Gracie hadn’t been here at all.

She had though. I’d heard her. I’d seen her.

Hadn’t I? Was this all another trick of the mind? Was Roman close?

My hands flew to my head. I squeezed my eyes shut. What the hell was happening to me? Was I going crazy? I couldn’t tell what was real from what wasn’t.

A loud noise sounded from somewhere to my right.

“Gracie!” I shouted before heading in that direction.

“Mina! Please help me! Oh God, Mina!” The fear in her voice was palpable. It had my feet moving faster. My heartrate kicking up. All I could think about was getting to her.

Another scream from her filled the night air. My wolf snapped and snarled. She fought me, pushing to be released. I didn’t give into her. I couldn’t. I needed to get to Gracie. Time was of the essence.

“Mina!” Gracie shouted again. This time she sounded as though she was behind me.

I came to a standstill. Listening. It was important I was going the right way.

“Gracie?” I called into the night.

No response.

Again, I found myself questioning if she’d actually been here at all.

Clapping sounded from behind me. My nails dug into my palms nearly piercing the skin. I’d been screwed with. Again. Gracie hadn’t been here at all.

“Bravo,” Roman said. “You were so determined to save your little sister. It was touching really.”

I spun to face him as my wolf snarled. Not just at him, but at me as well. She was reprehending me for not setting her free. For not heeding her warning something wasn’t right. For stepping into the woods to begin with.

“Did you like my little trick?” he asked. “It’s one of my favorites—making someone believe their loved one is in trouble. People fall for it every single time, even when what they see doesn’t quite make sense. Even when they know it’s dangerous to follow after their loved one into a secluded place. They always do. It boggles my mind really.”

The reality of the situation I’d placed myself in settled over me like a heavy fog. Shit. I’d placed myself in a thick forest with a monstrous vampire who wanted to kill me. How was I going to get out of this?

The bracelet.

If it worked on him, it would be my only hope. Could he feel it syphoning his power? Would I feel it working? I tried to think back to when I’d been around Benji earlier. Had I felt anything then? I couldn’t think.

Warmth! It had felt warm when Ridley put it on me. Had that been because it was already sucking Benji dry? Or was it from the objects it had been stored with?

I focused on the bracelet now. It was cold. Maybe Roman wasn’t close enough? Jesus, did he seriously have to be two feet away from me? I didn’t want to be that close to him. Ever. Powers or no powers.

“Mina!” Gracie’s panic-filled voice floated to my ears.

I glanced around before I remembered it wasn’t her. It was another of Roman’s tricks.

“Mina, please! Help me,” Gracie pleaded.

I swallowed hard but kept my eyes on Roman. This wasn’t real. Gracie wasn’t out here. She wasn’t being hurt.

“Mina! Why aren’t you helping me?” Gracie’s words were softer this time. Almost as though she was close to death.

My heart knocked against my ribs, but I still remained where I was. Never did my eyes waver from Roman’s either.

The coppery scent of blood clung to the air.

“He’s draining me dry, Mina! Help!” Gracie shouted.

I blinked and she was locked in Roman’s arms. He greedily sucked her neck, spilling her blood down the front of her white nightgown.

The metallic scent intensified as another scream ripped from my little sister’s throat. It was a vision that would forever be burned into my mind. Real or not.

I closed my eyes tight. “Stop.”

“Mina! Why won’t you get him off me?” Gracie whimpered.

“Stop,” I whispered.

“She’s begging you for help,” Roman insisted. “Aren’t you going to help your little sister, Mina?”

I prayed he’d walk toward me. The bracelet needed to work. It needed to put an end to this sick vision he was causing to play out in my mind.

Leaves rustling let me know I was about to get my wish.

When I opened my eyes, Roman was stalking toward me. In his arms he drug his fake version of Gracie along with him.

“I assumed you’d be the type to want to kick my ass and save your sister all in one breath,” Roman insisted. Blood trickled down his chin. He wiped it with the back of his hand. “What’s the matter? Is it because this isn’t real enough for you?”

He stopped walking. I held my breath, waiting on him to take another step. Willing it with my mind.

But, it didn’t happen.

Instead, he gripped Gracie’s head roughly. She whimpered. Tears rolled from her eyes faster than the blood spilling from the wound on her neck.

“How about I amp this up a little? Make it more real for you?” he seethed.

I knew what he was going to do next. In one swift motion, Roman snapped Gracie’s neck. I struggled to keep my reaction hidden from him, but it was impossible.

When he tossed her to the ground as though she were trash, a visible shiver slipped through me and a gasp forced its way past my lips.

Someone moving through the woods behind Roman captured my attention next. Gran stepped into the thick area of forest we stood in. I swallowed hard as I shifted my gaze back to Roman. A sick smirk twisted across his face.

“What? Did you think I was finished?” His smirk grew. “Oh, I was only getting started.”

I took a step forward. It was small, precise, but it erased a little more of the space between us.

Roman laughed. “This old lady is going to get a better reaction out of you than your own baby sister did? Mina Ryan, you truly are an interesting character.”

I ignored him and took another step forward.

It wasn’t that Gran meant more to me than Gracie. It was that I couldn’t stand here and watch him hurt another person I cared for, fictional or not.

One more step and I thought I felt the bracelet begin to warm.

“What am I doing out here? Why can’t I turn around?” Gran asked. She was dressed in her blue robe and barefoot. A dazed expression was plastered onto her face. “Mina, isn’t that Roman Montevallo? Is he...controlling me?”

Another step forward.

“Mina, what’s going on? Why aren’t you helping to stop whatever he’s doing to me?”

For the first time in my life, I ignored Gran. My focus was on the bracelet. Nothing more.

“I like how you’re creeping toward me,” Roman said. “It’s cute.”

The bracelet ignited against my skin, and I couldn’t help the grin that formed on my face at the sensation.

“Oh, I’m about to show you cute,” I muttered.

Roman folded his arms over his chest and narrowed his dark eyes on me. Gran flickered behind him, but he didn’t notice.

I lunged forward.

The fictional versions of both Gracie and Gran disappeared.

“What just happened?” Roman asked. His gaze drifted to where Gracie had been, sprawled on the ground before him. “How did you do that?”

I didn’t speak because he didn’t deserve an answer. Instead, I continued to saunter toward him, feeling as though I was the one in power now.

“Were you holding out on me, Little Wolf?” Roman grinned. “Have some tricks up your own sleeve, do you?”

Nearly a foot and a half of space separated us now.

“Don’t call me that,” I seethed. “Ever.”

My fist connected with the side of his jaw. Pain radiated through my knuckles from the force I’d placed behind the blow, but it still felt good.

“What the hell?” Roman spat. He clasp his jaw as his gaze hardened on me. “How did you do that? I shouldn’t have felt that as much as I did.”

His last words were more for himself than me, but they still made me laugh. Fear bloomed through his eyes at the sound of it.

“No. This isn’t right,” he insisted.

My wolf snapped. She struggled to be set free again, but I held her back. If I let her go now, she’d kill him.

While I didn’t care for Roman, I did think of Julian as a friend. He’d saved Eli and Benji. I felt entitled to stay true to my word and not kill his brother.

No matter how badly I wanted to.

“Magic,” I whispered.

I reached for a large branch nearby and smacked Roman alongside the head with it, knocking him out. I’d wanted to snap his neck like he had Gracie, but I wasn’t sure he would survive. The bracelet did make him seem nearly human after all.

Roman fell to the ground with a thud. Adrenaline continued to flood my veins, as well as satisfaction. None of it stemmed from my wolf, though. She wasn’t happy with me. She’d wanted Roman dead. Not unconscious at my feet. Her vote had been to snap his neck and see if he survived.

In her eyes, he needed to pay for his sins.

Not just for what he’d done to me in the woods, but for all the lives he’d had a hand in ending. It took everything in my power not to give in to what she wanted because deep down there was a place inside me that wanted the same thing. Roman had hurt so many innocent people. He’d killed so many. He deserved to die.

It would be so easy.

It would. All I’d have to do is run a stick through his heart. Then, all of this would be over for good. There would be no worries he would turn into the Midnight Reaper again if he tasted human blood.

I could end this right here and now. I could end him.

Would anyone blame me?

Julian would. So would the pack when the Montevallos went to war with us to avenge their brother’s death.

Why did that matter so much to me?

Had they allowed us to avenge our alpha’s death? No. We hadn’t threatened them with war because of it either. In fact none of the Montevallos had so much as apologized for their brother’s part in our alpha’s murder.

Had they?

My hand flew to my head as the beginnings of a headache twinged dully. My wolf tried to take advantage of my lapse in control, but I reined her in before it was too late. She howled out her disapproval, and I screamed right back at her, sending nighttime animals around me racing away.

With my head in my hands, I continued to debate what my next move should be—call Eli and Julian to tell them I’d taken down Roman or put a stick through his heart and call it a night.

“Holy shit!” Tate shouted from behind me. “Are you okay? Is that Roman?”

He rushed to where I was and placed a hand on my back.

“What are you doing out here?” I asked, ignoring his questions.

“I heard you yell. I was taking the trash out for Mom when I heard you.” He glanced around me. “Damn, you really cracked that bloodsucker over the head good. Eli will be proud...after he gets over being pissed you were out here all alone going head-to-head with him. You are a badass, Mina. Remind me never to screw with you again.”

The corners of my lips twisted upward into a smile at the same time as I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”

“Seriously though, Eli is going to want to hear about this.” Tate reached out and lifted Roman’s arm, then let it fall back into place. “Preferably before this guy wakes. I don’t feel like going up against him myself unless you and that bracelet are close by.” He reached into his back pocket and tossed me his cell.

I didn’t want to go against Roman again either, which was why I didn’t hesitate in scrolling to find Eli’s name. It rang three times before he answered.

“Hey, what’s up?” he asked, thinking I was Tate.

“It’s me. I got Roman. He’s sort of unconscious right now. In the woods. Behind our trailer. You should probably call everyone and let them know there’s no need to search for him anymore,” I said. My gaze was fixed on Roman.

“What? How? Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m good. The bracelet worked its magic on him, so it was easy.”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.” The sound of his truck rumbling to life filtered through the phone. “Can you call Julian and let him know?”

I licked my lips. “Sure.”

“Are you positive you’re okay?”

“Yeah. I’m good. Glad he’s not on the loose anymore, honestly.”

“Me too.” There was relief in Eli’s voice I hadn’t expected to hear. “I’m ready to put all this behind us. I think the pack needs a break too. We’re all starting to feel the pressure.”

“I know.”

“So, what was the devastating blow?”

“Uh, I smacked him with a branch alongside the head.” The words were weird to say.

“Nice.” Eli chuckled.

“Yeah, I’m not planning on pissing her off anytime soon now that I know what she’s capable of,” Tate said loud enough for Eli to hear.

“Tell him I said good,” Eli insisted. “He shouldn’t be trying to piss you off anymore anyways.”

“He said good,” I relayed the message.

“I’m almost to the park now. I’ll see you in a second. Love you,” Eli said.

“Love you too.” I hung up and released a slow breath. Then, I found Julian’s number and hit call.